JP2014150088A - Electronic control device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an electronic control device which may secure waterproofness and air permeability of a housing without increasing the number of components.SOLUTION: A housing 11 includes: a case 20 which opens at the upper side; and a cover 30 for closing the opening of the case 20. A peripheral wall 22 of the case 20 is annularly fastened to the cover 30 at the inner side of an upper end surface 23 to form the housing 11. One communication port 27 of a communication hole 26 which is provided on the peripheral wall 22 and communicates with a storage space 11a is formed at the outer side of the upper end surface 23. At least a part of the communication hole 26 is closed by a gel member 17.

Description

  The present invention relates to an electronic control device having a waterproof housing in which electronic components are accommodated.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a housing that accommodates electronic components is provided with a breathing hole that communicates with a housing space in order to prevent expansion of the housing space due to a temperature change. And the gel which encloses in the storage space of a housing | casing prevents the water which penetrate | invades from a breathing hole from contacting the electronic component in a storage space.

  However, if there is a conduction part of an electronic component that is not completely protected by the gel and water that has entered from the breathing hole comes into contact with the conduction part, electrolytic corrosion or the like may occur. For this reason, as disclosed in Patent Document 1 below, the use of a breathing filter on the upper surface of the cover or the like ensures waterproofness and air permeability.

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2008-078506

  However, when a dedicated component such as a breathing filter is provided in the housing, not only the manufacturing cost increases, but also the number of components increases, which makes it difficult to reduce the size of the device itself. .

  The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide an electronic control device that can ensure waterproofness and air permeability of a housing without increasing the number of parts. There is.

In order to achieve the above object, the invention according to claim 1 of the present invention is a case in which the lower part of the electronic parts (12, 13) and the peripheral wall (22) is closed by the bottom wall (21) and the upper part is opened. (20) and a cover (30) for closing the opening, and a housing (11) in which the electronic component is housed in a housing space (11a) configured by assembling the case and the cover. ) And a gel member (17) having air permeability accommodated in the accommodation space in order to protect the electronic component, and the peripheral wall is annularly formed on the cover inside the upper end surface (23) One communication port (27) of a communication hole (26) provided in the peripheral wall and communicating with the accommodation space is formed outside the upper end surface, and at least a part of the communication hole is It is blocked by the gel member To.
In addition, the code | symbol in the parenthesis of a claim and the said means shows a corresponding relationship with the specific means as described in embodiment mentioned later.

  According to the first aspect of the present invention, the casing is configured by annularly fixing the peripheral wall of the case to the cover inside the upper end surface. Then, one communication port of a communication hole provided in the peripheral wall and communicating with the accommodation space is formed outside the upper end surface, and at least a part of the communication hole is blocked by the gel member.

  As a result, even when the case and the cover are assembled, the gel member that closes at least a part of the communication hole has air permeability, so that the housing space can be vented through the communication hole. Therefore, expansion of the accommodation space due to temperature change can be prevented. In particular, even if water enters the communication hole from one communication port, it cannot pass through the gel member in the communication hole, so that it is possible to prevent water from entering the accommodation space. Accordingly, it is not necessary to use a dedicated part such as a breathing filter, and the waterproofness and air permeability of the housing can be ensured without increasing the number of parts.

It is a figure which shows schematic structure of the electronic controller which concerns on this embodiment. It is an expanded sectional view which expands and shows the communicating hole vicinity of a case. It is an expansion perspective view which expands and shows the communicating hole vicinity of a surrounding wall.

  Hereinafter, an embodiment of an electronic control device of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of an electronic control device 10 according to the present embodiment, FIG. 1 (A) is a top view, and FIG. 1 (B) is 1B-1B in FIG. 1 (A). It is sectional drawing by the cut surface equivalent to a line. In FIG. 1A, for convenience, only the convex portion 32 of the cover 30 is shown by a two-dot chain line, and the gel member 17 is not shown.

  An electronic control device 10 shown in FIGS. 1A and 1B is a device that is employed as an electronic control device for a vehicle engine, for example, and is formed by a resinous housing 11 and the housing 11. 1 or 2 or more electronic components accommodated in the accommodating space 11a. In the present embodiment, for example, a circuit board 12 or a capacitor 13 in which a microcomputer or the like is mounted on a printed board is employed as the electronic component. The capacitor 13 is electrically connected to the circuit board 12 via leads 14 that are insert-molded in the housing 11. Further, the circuit board 12 is electrically connected to the corresponding connector 16 via the lead 15 connected to each terminal 12a. In the connector 16, a part of the terminal 16 a to which the lead 15 is connected is insert-molded in the housing 11, and a connector cover 16 b that protects the external connection portion of the terminal 16 a is integrally formed on the outer surface of the housing 11. Has been.

  Since each electronic component is housed in the housing space 11a of the housing 11 in this way, the housing 11 is required to be waterproof and breathable. For this reason, the accommodating space 11a accommodates a gel member 17 that insulates and protects the connection portions of each electronic component (circuit board 12, capacitor 13, etc.) (see FIG. 1B). The gel member 17 has a property of being air permeable and does not allow moisture to permeate. For example, a silicone gel mainly composed of a silicone resin material is employed.

  Next, the structure of the housing | casing 11 which is the characteristic part of this invention is demonstrated in detail using FIGS. 1-3. FIG. 2 is an enlarged cross-sectional view showing the vicinity of the communication hole 26 of the case 20 in an enlarged manner. FIG. 3 is an enlarged perspective view showing the vicinity of the communication hole 26 of the peripheral wall 22 in an enlarged manner. In addition, in FIG. 3, illustration of the groove part 24 is abbreviate | omitted for convenience.

  As illustrated in FIG. 1B, the housing 11 includes a case 20 that opens upward and a cover 30 that closes the opening of the case 20. The case 20 includes a bottom wall 21 formed in a substantially flat plate shape and a peripheral wall 22 in a substantially rectangular tube shape, and engages a lower end portion of the peripheral wall 22 with an annular groove portion 21a formed in the upper surface of the bottom wall 21. Then, by being fixed by the adhesive 41, the upper part is formed so as to open. At the four corners of the bottom wall 21, through holes 21b for assembling the electronic control device 10 are formed.

  The upper end of the peripheral wall 22 is configured as a square annular upper end surface 23, and a substantially square annular groove portion 24 is formed along the inner edge of the upper end surface 23. The groove portion 24 is formed to store the adhesive 42 to be applied, and is formed so that a square annular convex portion 32 formed on the lower surface 31 of the cover 30 can be inserted.

  As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, in the peripheral wall 22, a communication hole 26 that functions as a breathing hole is formed by communicating an outer portion of the upper end surface 23 with respect to the groove 24 and the inner surface 25 of the peripheral wall 22. Has been. The communication hole 26 has a rectangular cross section, and is formed such that a first communication hole 26a extending in the vertical direction and a second communication hole 26b extending in the thickness direction (left-right direction) of the peripheral wall 22 communicate with each other at a right angle. ing. The cross section of the communication hole 26 is not limited to being formed in a square shape, but may be formed in another shape, for example, a triangular shape or a substantially elliptical shape.

  That is, one communication port 27 of the communication hole 26 (first communication hole 26 a) is formed outside the groove portion 24 at one edge of the upper end surface 23. The other communication port 28 of the communication hole 26 (second communication hole 26 b) is formed so that the inner surface 25 of the peripheral wall 22, specifically, the bottom wall 21 constitutes the lower edge of the other communication port 28. Has been. The peripheral wall 22 has a lower end corresponding to the second communication hole 26 b formed in a concave shape, and the second communication hole 26 b is configured by the concave portion and the upper surface of the bottom wall 21.

Next, the assembly of the electronic control device 10 will be described below.
First, after the case 20 is formed by engaging and fixing the lower end portion of the peripheral wall 22 to the groove portion 21 a of the bottom wall 21, electronic components such as the circuit board 12 and the capacitor 13 are arranged at predetermined positions of the case 20. In this state, the fluidized gel member 17 is poured into the case 20. Thereby, the gel member 17 in a fluid state flows into the communication hole 26 from the other communication port 28 and closes at least a part of the communication hole 26. At this time, the height of the gel member 17 in the first communication hole 26a substantially matches the height of the gel member 17 in the accommodation space 11a. The fluidized gel member 17 is cured by overheating or the like under predetermined conditions.

  Then, with the adhesive 42 applied to the groove portion 24 of the peripheral wall 22, the convex portion 32 of the cover 30 is inserted into the groove portion 24, so that the peripheral wall 22 is inside the upper end surface 23 and the lower surface 31 of the cover 30. It is fixed to the ring. Thereby, the airtightness between the groove part 24 and the convex part 32 is ensured, and the accommodation space 11a is formed so that the communication hole 26 communicates with the outside air through the gap between the upper end surface 23 and the lower surface 31 of the cover 30. Is done.

  As described above, in the electronic control device 10 according to the present embodiment, the casing 11 is configured by the peripheral wall 22 of the case 20 being annularly fixed to the cover 30 inside the upper end surface 23. One communication port 27 of a communication hole 26 provided in the peripheral wall 22 and communicating with the accommodation space 11 a is formed outside the upper end surface 23, and at least a part of the communication hole 26 is formed by the gel member 17. Blocked.

  Thereby, even when the case 20 and the cover 30 are assembled, the gel member 17 that closes at least a part of the communication hole 26 has air permeability, so that the accommodation space is provided via the communication hole 26. Since 11a communicates with the outside air so as to allow ventilation, expansion of the accommodation space 11a due to a temperature change can be prevented. In particular, even if water enters the communication hole 26 from one communication port 27, it cannot pass through the gel member 17 in the communication hole 26, so that it is possible to prevent water from entering the accommodation space 11a. Accordingly, it is not necessary to employ a dedicated part such as a breathing filter, and the waterproofness and air permeability of the housing 11 can be ensured without increasing the number of parts.

  Further, the communication hole 26 is formed to communicate with the accommodation space 11 a so that the bottom wall 21 constitutes the lower edge of the other communication port 28, and therefore, the other communication port 28 is formed at an intermediate portion in the vertical direction of the inner surface 25. Compared to the case where the first communication hole 26a is formed so as to communicate with the accommodation space 11a, the entire length of the first communication hole 26a is increased. For this reason, the part obstruct | occluded by the gel member 17 among the 1st communicating holes 26a increases, As a result, the waterproofness regarding the communicating holes 26 can be improved.

  In particular, in the case 20, since the peripheral wall 22 and the bottom wall 21 are configured separately, the second communication hole 26 b is formed by assembling the concave portion corresponding to the second communication hole 26 b of the peripheral wall 22 and the upper surface of the bottom wall 21. Can be formed. Accordingly, the second communication hole 26b can be easily molded as compared with the case where the second communication hole 26b is molded using a core or the like on the peripheral wall 22 formed integrally with the bottom wall 21. .

In addition, this invention is not limited to the said embodiment, For example, you may actualize as follows.
(1) The electronic control device 10 according to the present invention is not limited to being employed as an electronic control device for a vehicle engine, and may be employed in an electronic control device or the like used in an environment with a large temperature change.

(2) The communication hole 26 that is at least partially blocked by the gel member 17 is not limited to being provided at one location so as to communicate the outer side of the groove 24 at one edge of the upper end surface 23 and the inner surface 25 of the peripheral wall 22. A plurality of locations may be provided depending on the use environment.

(3) The other communication port 28 is limited to be formed in the vicinity of the bottom wall 21 so that the bottom wall 21 forms the lower edge of the other communication port 28, and the intermediate portion in the vertical direction of the inner surface 25. And it may be formed in the position where the gel member 17 in a fluid state flows.

(4) The bottom wall 21 and the peripheral wall 22 are not limited to being formed separately, and may be integrally formed.

(5) The first communication hole 26a is not limited to be formed so as to extend in the vertical direction in order to facilitate molding, but may be formed in a curved shape or the like in order to increase the overall length and improve the waterproof property. Good.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Electronic control apparatus 11 ... Housing 11a ... Housing space 12 ... Circuit board (electronic component) 13 ... Capacitor (electronic component)
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 17 ... Gel member 20 ... Case 21 ... Bottom wall 22 ... Perimeter wall 23 ... Upper end surface 26 ... Communication hole 27 ... One communication port 28 ... The other communication port 30 ... Cover

Claims (3)

Electronic components (12, 13);
A case (20) in which the lower part of the peripheral wall (22) is closed by the bottom wall (21) and the upper part is opened, and a cover (30) for closing the opening, and the case and the cover are assembled. A housing (11) in which the electronic component is housed in a housing space (11a) configured;
An air-permeable gel member (17) accommodated in the accommodation space to protect the electronic component;
With
The peripheral wall is annularly fixed to the cover inside the upper end surface (23),
One communication port (27) of a communication hole (26) provided in the peripheral wall and communicating with the accommodation space is formed outside the upper end surface,
At least a part of the communication hole is blocked by the gel member.   2. The electronic control device according to claim 1, wherein the communication hole is formed to communicate with the housing space such that the bottom wall constitutes a lower edge of the other communication port (28).   The electronic control device according to claim 2, wherein the peripheral wall and the bottom wall are configured as separate bodies in the case.

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